Month: December 2021

Enlarge / A remote controlled volume controller. It can also raise and lower the volume to preset levels using the buttons. (credit: Chris Lee)

One of the last times I wrote anything for Ars Technica, I excitedly detailed our new electrical engineering curriculum. We were starting a pilot in February and I promised to write a follow up at the end of the academic year, which was in July. To be honest, I was so exhausted by the semester that I simply could not bring myself to write about it over the summer holiday. 

Now, as we exit the Christmas holiday, I finally feel able to paint a picture. It’s not all bright colors and beautiful landscapes, but the view looks promising.

For those of you who don’t remember the earlier piece, a summary: we switched from a traditional course-based curriculum to a project-based curriculum, where the students had to choose how to show that they could use their electrical engineering knowledge. The philosophy is that being able to apply knowledge and skills in the right context is a good signal that someone understands what they've learned. That means we have to set the right context and provide the students the opportunity to acquire the right knowledge and skills.

Enlarge (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple has put a Foxconn manufacturing plant that makes iPhone 12s and is running trial production of the iPhone 13 on probation, Reuters reported today. The move comes after both Apple and Foxconn determined that some worker dorms and dining rooms failed to meet requirements.

Production at the plant in Sriperumbudur, India has already been halted for a week and a half. Apple placed a plant belonging to Wistron Corp., another one of its suppliers, on probation last year due to "unrest," Reuters noted, and Wistron didn't receive any new business from Apple during that period.

The Foxconn plant in question has been closed since December 18. Protests had broken out that week after 256 factory workers were treated for food poisoning, including 159 who were hospitalized. At the time, the local government described it as "an outbreak of acute diarrheal disease."

Enlarge / Amazon's Echo Show 15 is about the largest smart display you can find. (credit: Scharon Harding)

When getting a display of any type, the first thing to consider is size. And unless the display will be moving around, chances are that the bigger it is, the better your experience will be. TV manufacturers have gone big, smartphones (to my chagrin) insist on doing so, and now it's time for a newer category, smart displays, to step onto the big screen.

The Amazon Echo Show 15 isn't just the biggest Echo package yet, it has the biggest screen you can easily find in a smart display of any brand. The 15.6-inch display is meant to be anchored and serve as a central organization hub for your household. Boasting Alexa-powered widgets like shared calendars, shopping lists, to-do lists, and the abilities to call household members and manage your other smart devices, there's a lot of utility to take advantage of.

Navigating the Echo Show 15's content sometimes feels clunky, and some features are hard to discover, despite Amazon's efforts to stuff the UI with tips. Different family member profiles can be activated via facial recognition, but the transition isn't always smooth. You'll have to train your family to use the Echo Show 15 to make it really worthwhile. But if you're going down the path of smart displays, the Echo Show 15 comes with a bigger screen and bigger possibilities than the competition.